National Association of Academic Technologists Suspends Strike
BY TEMI OHAKWE, ABUJA – The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), in Universities and Colleges of Education, has announce the suspension of its over 68days strike.
NAAT said that its suspension of the strike is to enable the leadership of the Association to engage the Federal Government further in fulfilling it promises.
It said that the suspension of the strike takes effect from Friday, August 26, 2022.
These were contained in an announcement by the President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma after the meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) which took place at its national Secretariat situated at the University of Abuja on Thursday.
Nwokoma said the NEC agreed that if NAAT members must return to work, the federal government must pay the back log of it salaries for the period of the strike action.
He further said that the Union totally reject the “No work No Pay Policy” of the Federal Government, stressing that it fully complied with the laid down guidelines before it embarked on the industrial action.
At the NEC meeting, 58 branches of NAAT of Federal, State Universities as well as Colleges of Education voted for the suspension of the strike while 14 others voted for continuation of the industrial action.
The NEC of the Union, said it suspended the strike for three months while it will observe and monitor the Union’s engagement with the government on pending issues.
While the NAAT joining NASU and SSANU to call off their strike in the public universities, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has however insisted on pressing on with the prolonged industrial action, saying it is unimpressed by the offers made to it by government.
NAAT thereby directed students on research to return to laboratories, studios and farms saying the facilities will be re-opened from Friday, August 26, 2022.
NAAT commenced strike on March 21, 2022 to push for the implementation of 2009 FGN/Union’s agreement.
With these, all the University based unions have suspended their strike except the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).